Sustainable Consumption and Production

Danish sustainable consumption and production efforts are cross-cutting schemes involving numerous actors from various sectors of society. In Denmark, sustainable consumption and production (SCP) has only recently become a part of our terminology, but in reality it has been part of Danish environmental efforts since the 1980's.

Today, Danish SCP efforts are cross-cutting schemes involving numerous actors from various sectors of society, primarily making use of market-based instruments along with dialogue and partnerships with stakeholders and information-based instruments, such as campaigns.

Denmark works closely together with other countries in the Nordic Council's Working Group for SCP (HKP) .

Green Nordic Retailers Retailers hold an influential role in promoting sustainable consumption and production, occupying a unique position in the lifecycle chain of products as a liaison between producers and consumers. Denmark therefore initiated a project on SCP in the Nordic retail sector during their presidency of the Nordic Council in 2010.

Sustainable Procurement The Danish strategy on sustainable procurement focus on both public and private procurement efforts conjoined in the Forum for Sustainable Procurement and the Partnership for green public procurement, which provides a range of tools and advice on sustainable procurement for public and private purchasers.

Ecolabels in Denmark The European and Nordic ecolabels are the only two officially recognized ecolabels in Denmark. Both labels set out requirements in the same areas of a product's environmental impact, and shows consumers that the ecolabelled products meet strict environmental requirements, taking into account health and quality.

EMAS and environmental management The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) has been the preferred voluntary environmental management system of the European Commission since 1993. In Denmark, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the competent body for EMAS registrations.